Ex-Patient: Expansion Improves Care

ROGERS — On June 4, Dennis Ferguson discovered he had three blocked arteries.

"One was blocked 100 percent, another 99 percent and one 70 percent. I was a ticking time bomb for a heart attack," Ferguson said Monday as he attended the open house of Phase I of the $5.5 million expansion of the Mercy Heart and Vascular Center at Mercy Health Center.

Ferguson had triple bypass surgery followed by 12 weeks of rehab at the hospital. He said he's in great shape now.

Ferguson, executive vice president of Simmons First Bank, said the improvements at the Heart and Vascular Center means there is no better care for heart patients.

"They saved my life and the expanded center will give other heart patients an even better chance of survival than I had," Ferguson said.

Phase I of the expansion includes an 11-bed pre- and post-procedure unit dedicated to cardiac patients, raising the number of catheterization labs to four and a robotic C-arm imaging machine that provides better images of the heart.

"The robotic C-arm allows us to do more heart procedures in a minimally invasive way," said Charlotte Rankin, executive director of cardiovascular services and diagnostic imaging. "There will be opportunities to keep some patients out of the operating room because of the high-definition images we can get. It will make it feasible to do more procedures in the cath lab rather than surgery."

The robotic C-arm, the latest in imaging technology, cost approximately $1.3 million. There is only one in Arkansas and only eight in the United States, Rankin said.

Scott Street, president and chief executive officer of the Mercy Health System, said the improvement to the Mercy Heart and Vascular Center came about by listening to patients.

Patients were asked what they would like to see in the way of improvements to the center.

"We took many of their suggestions and began planning this expansion last spring," Street said.

"With this first phase complete we are the premier heart care facility in Northwest Arkansas. We are a one-stop heart clinic. There isn't a need to travel to another town or state because we have the best facility right here," Street said.

The price tag on Phase I was approximately $2.5 million.

Phase II will include a second-floor bridge connector from the hospital to the Heart and Vascular Center in the Physicians Plaza building. Other improvements include a more convenient patient discharge exit and additional parking closer to the building.

The Phase II improvements are scheduled for completion by the summer at a cost of $3 million, Street said.

Chris Simpson, an intravascular cardiologist, one of the six doctors, two surgeons and six cardio specialist nurses at the heart clinic, said the improvements will allow physicians to do more than they could before.

"The reason we are doing this is our passion to provide the highest level of cardiovascular care possible in Benton County," Simpson said.

The quality imaging will allow doctors to see the blockage of an artery from all sides before making a determination of what procedure should be done, Simpson said.

"We can use the layered 3D scans before and after the operation to see if the stints are functioning properly. It will also help better place a balloon in a damaged artery, Simpson said.

There are still some procedures that can't be performed at Mercy Health, Simpson said.

"But that's OK. This imaging will help us decide faster and safer if the patient needs to be somewhere else. I have a motto, 'Do best at what you do.' If we can't do it, we send the patient somewhere they can do it," Simpson said.

Mayor Greg Hines said the expansion was welcome news.

"Any time there is an improvement in health, education or business, it's good for our city and area," Hines said.